Mysterious preserved Bf 108 wreck

Nice find. Looks like it won’t be flying for a few months!:rolleyes:

Thanks, Archer. That confirms some of the more unusual aspects of the aircraft Any way you cut it, it’s an aeroplane with a story to tell.

Am Triebwerk befanden sich die hölzernen Reste der starren Luftschraube, wie sie bei frühen Varianten der Bf 108B eingesetzt wurde. Auf diese Einordnung deutet auch der noch gut erhaltene dunkelblaue Lack hin, der bis etwa 1940 bei Messerschmitt verwendet worden war, aber auch am Wrack vorgefundene Bauteilschilder, die auf Produktion der Maschine im Jahr 1939 in Regensburg hinweisen.

This translates (roughly) as:
The wooden remains of a fixed pitch propellor, as used on early Bf108B variants, were found attached to the engine. This classification is substantiated by the well preserved dark blue paint, which was used by Messerschmitt until 1940 (approx.), but also by subpart dataplates which point to an aircraft built in Regensburg in 1939.
My translation is slightly different from Google, I wasn’t sure that the fact that they do have dataplates for several components was clear enough. Apparently these do not point to a specific machine.

eines an das Bordnetz angeschlossenen Reflexvisiers Revi C 12D

What they found was: a reflection gunsight Revi C 12D which was connected to the electrical system inside the cabin area. If the sight was carried only as a spare (cargo) then hooking it up to the electrics would not make sense.

Was the Revi actually fitted in the 108, or was it just found in the cockpit (possibly a spare brought in, or a faulty item being taken away for repair)?

That’s a good point. The cockpit area of the aircraft had been destroyed and the instrument panel (and presumably coaming) was missing, so it wasn’t attached at recovery. The text in the original linked item is all I have on that, and my German isn’t good enough to be sure of such subtleties. The museum seem to think it was probably ‘fitted’, but unless that’s based on structural attachments still embedded in the sight’s mounting unit, that may be erroneous. There’s the text and the image – more expert insight (heh) on the sight or German welcome.

Was the Revi actually fitted in the 108, or was it just found in the cockpit (possibly a spare brought in, or a faulty item being taken away for repair)?

Sorry, but I can not remember if they stated which ID the wreck has.

Thanks for sharing the images. Don’t worry, the placard does not state any ID, one of the reasons I started the thread!

Regards,

I visited the Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow (ex-British airfield) this year in May. Sorry, but I can not remember if they stated which ID the wreck has. But I took 2 pics of the Bf 108. You can see the blue paint on the fin, around / under the Swastika.

Michael

The Revi sight seems very surprising indeed, but I am wondering if it is associated with some for of gun camera for training in gunnery principles rather than having been fitted, per se, with live weapons?

They certainly DID have guns. I remember a documentary, where two ME 108’s shot up a squadron of Mosquito’s on the ground, somewhere in Hertfordshire I believe.

Here is a still, though sadly the guns do not show up very well

Bit better in the 2nd shot

Hi Dave,
Regarding the paint, that’s a reasonable theory, I agree. However it doesn’t seem evident in the wreck as displayed.

Regarding the proposed serial, the museum’s placard does not offer one, and on that basis, I’m wary of serials offered o the internet unless we have some idea of their origin. I’m guessing some people are taking a scenario as an established fact. But thanks for the input!

It also looks to having had blue paint, although I expect that’s a function of the images / paint decay.

Why? Plenty of evidence of early 108s being painted blue pre-war. From the relics, I’d say it was originally blue but then overpainted with wartime Greens.

A number of websites give the identity as 2126, but unconfimred -link shows how it’s now displayed

http://www.eurodemobbed.org.uk/image_view.php?a=64882&s=2126_bf108.jpg

Daz, this one definitely wasn’t fitted with guns. I can see that the modern military recovery team and (possibly) the museum might overlook the fitments for Panzerfausts – but not likely. They wouldn’t miss guns!

I know, I was just making a comment regarding the fitment of guns. Wasn’t meant to be taken in context. Sorry! 😀

Daz, this one definitely wasn’t fitted with guns. I can see that the modern military recovery team and (possibly) the museum might overlook the fitments for Panzerfausts – but not likely. They wouldn’t miss guns!

Andy, that seems to be the museum’s view.

Thanks Archer, that confirms my uncertain reading of the web-page. However I would’ve thought there would be some data plate that would give some clues to ID. They do have the engine, too – but maybe the plate was lost with the alloy dissolving.

It also looks to having had blue paint, although I expect that’s a function of the images / paint decay.

Also I’m intrigued that it was an early model in 1944 still with a wooden (rather than later metal?) prop. (Not that I know that it would’ve been upgraded – or likely, or even possible. Anyone?)

Nothing conclusive there, but compared to other recoveries where we seem to know everything about everything, there seems some pretty major loose ends – like the ID.

Thanks all.

The article speaks about Werk.nr. 2126 DH + BE, of JG 103 which was lost on 14.12.1944. My guesstimate from a read of the German version is that this is the most likely suspect but further investigation is needed to establish whether this is true. So no further info, the Google translation is as good as it gets.

The Revi sight seems very surprising indeed, but I am wondering if it is associated with some for of gun camera for training in gunnery principles rather than having been fitted, per se, with live weapons?

Actually, thinking about it, a while back a friend of mine told me that some ‘108s were fitted in the field with machine-guns in/on the wings, but I’ve always thought that story to be a bit far-fetched, given what would probably be a considerable amount of modification needed for this to be achieved.

Bucker Bestmanns, certainly. Don’t recall 108s so fitted, but that’s a possible explanation.

I’m sure I’ve seen something somewhere about 108s being fitted with Panzerfaust anti tank weapons under the wings. ………. As desperate as fitting Tiger Moths and Magisters with bomb racks in 1940.

Not as far as I know either (ahem, excepting in films…) but it definitely had a gunsight, which is very interesting, because that’s odd.

It was fitted with a Revi gunsight, but no guns, so may have been some kind of gunnery trainer.

I didn’t know they were ever fitted with guns? :confused: